Today is Sunday; 26th of the Iranian month of Ordibehesht 1395 solar hijri; corresponding to 8th of the Islamic month of Sha’ban 1437 lunar hijri; and May 15, 2016, of the Christian Gregorian Calendar.

1017 solar years ago, on this day in 999 AD, following the dethroning and blinding of the Iranian Samanid king of Central Asia, Mansur II, by his rebellious governor, Fayeq-e-Khasah and Turkic slave general, Bektuzun, the two entered into an agreement with the rising power of Sultan Mahmud the Turkic king of Ghazna, to divide the land of Khorasan between them, by retaining control of Merv and Naishapour, while ceding Herat and Balkh to Mahmoud. The Samanids, who ruled for 180 years from their capital Bukhara (presently in Uzbekistan) are credited with the emergence of the modern Persian language written in the Arabic script, which was once the lingua franca of the Islamic east, spread from Central Asia to Anatolia and the Subcontinent, and is now the official language of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Ghaznavids further promoted this trend, resulting in the composing of the poetical masterpiece, the Shahnameh of Abu’l-Qassem Ferdowsi.

876 lunar years ago, on this day in 561 AH, the Spanish Muslim hadith scholar, botanist, and pharmacist, Abu Abbas Ahmad Ibn Mohammad Ibn Mufarraj an-Nabati was born in Seville. He is often called Ibn Rumiya, which means son of a lady who was Christian before her conversion to Islam. Initially, he studied in Andalusia, learning the features of different plant species, and later traveled to different countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Hijaz, to study plants, while also acquiring the science of Hadith. He wrote an account of his journey, “Kitab ar-Rehla”, which deals primarily with his observations of plants and medicinal properties. He has left behind numerous books in botany, theology, and hadith. Some of his works are still used by researchers.

842 solar years ago, on this day in 1174 AD, Nour od-Din Zangi, the powerful ruler of the Turkic dynasty of Syria, northern Iraq and southeastern Anatolia, founded by his father Atabeg Emad od-Din, after breaking away from the Iran-based Seljuqid Empire, died while preparing to invade Egypt to bring under control his rebellious Kurdish general, Salah od-Din, who had seized the Land of the Nile for himself from the Ismaili Shi’ite Fatemid Dynasty. Nour od-Din Zangi was a thorn in the side of the European Crusader occupiers of Palestine, but despite his claim to serve the cause of Islam, he was an enemy of the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt, whom he repressed and expelled in thousands from the city of Aleppo and adjoining areas. A few years after his death, Salah od-Din destroyed the Zangid Dynasty, married Nour od-Din’s widow, and continued the same policy of repression of the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt, although he is credited with the liberation of Bayt al-Moqaddas after 88 years of occupation by the illegal Latin Kingdom of Palestine, set up by the Crusader invaders.

619 solar years ago, on this day in 1397 AD, the 4th king of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, who was posthumously called Sejong the Great, was born in an era when the Islamic calendar served as a basis for calendar reform owing to its superior accuracy over the Chinese-based calendars. The Joseon Dynasty used a Korean translation of the Huihui Lifa, which itself was a Chinese translation of the Islamic astronomy works of the Iranian Muslim scholar of Bukhara, Jamal od-Din Mohammad ibn Ṭaher ibn Mohammad az‐Zaydi al‐Bukhari (known in Chinese as Zhamaluding). Sejong, who ruled from 1418 to 1450, was against Chinese influences in language, culture and religion, and introduced “Hangul”, the native phonetic 28-alphabet system for the Korean language. He suffered from severe diabetes that eventually cost him his eyesight. He fell under the influence of inefficient persons, and in 1427 took the unwise decision of imposing a ban on the Huihui Korean Muslim community that had special status and stipends since the Yuan dynasty. The Huihui Korean Muslims were forced to abandon their headgear, to close down their Mosque. The tradition of Chinese-Islamic astronomy, however, continued to survive in Korea up until the early 19th century. 

374 solar years ago, on this day in 1642 AD, Shah Abbas II was crowned the 7th Safavid Emperor of Iran at the age of 10 years in Kashan, three days after the death of his father Shah Safi. Born in Qazvin, he was tutored by Rajab Ali Tabrizi, and learned how to maintain order over the vast empire and other state affairs by two other nobles named Mohammad-Ali Beg and Jani Khan Shamlu. A year after coronation, he moved his court to the Safavid capital of Isfahan. Unlike his father, he took an active interest in government and military matters; and like his great-grandfather Shah Abbas I, he was famous for the construction of many buildings, such as the famous Chehel Sotoun in Isfahan. On the western front his rule was relatively peaceful and was free of any Ottoman attack. In 1648 he managed to liberate Qandahar in what is now Afghanistan from occupation of the Mughal Empire of the Subcontinent. The Mughal ruler Shah Jahan sent his son Aurangzeb with an army of 50,000 soldiers but was unable to reoccupy Qandahar. In 1651, in the North Caucasus, Safavid troops came into conflict with Russia in the region of Sunzha, culminating into the Russo-Persian War of 1651–53. The Safavid influence prior to the war extended to the feudal tenure of the Kumyks in Daghestan. After two successful years, the Iranian plans were to capture the city of Terek and to move all the way to Astrakhan on the northern side of the Caspian Sea, trouble on the eastern front with Mughal India distracted attention. The Russian government sent an embassy, led by Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostovsky and Ivan Komynin, to Isfahan for peaceful settlement of the conflict, to which the Shah II agreed. The war ended with the Safavids managing to increase their influence in the North Caucasus even more. He was a capable ruler and during his 24-year reign, the country was relatively peaceful and free of any Ottoman attack. Shah Abbas’ sudden death in Khusrauabad near Damghan on the night of 25–26 October 1666, at the age of 34 was a great blow to Iran. He was buried beside his father in holy Qom.

300 lunar years ago, on this day in 1137 AH, Mahmoud Ghilzai Hotaki, the Afghan occupier of Iran, who brutally slaughtered 39 family members of the deposed Safavid monarch, Shah Sultan Hussain, including 11 princes, was killed by his cousin, Ashraf Hotaki. Mahmoud had seized control of the Persian Empire three years earlier following the Battle of Gulnabad. Ashraf, now styled himself king, until he was defeated in battle some four years later by Nader Quli Afshar, the commander of the army of the last Safavid king, Shah Tahmasp II. The 7-year Afghan occupation of Iran was a period of great chaos during which the occupiers destroyed over 500 public baths, schools, mosques and libraries. Among the crimes of Ashraf Hotaki is the martyrdom of Shah Sultan Hussain Safavi.

240 solar years ago, on this day in 1776 AD, the first steam boat was built. Seventy years following the discovery of steam power by a French engineer, Denis Papin, a steam boat was built by Marquis Claude de Jouffroy d’Abbans. The usage of steam power in ships marked a major development in the navigation industry.

166 solar years ago, on this day in 1850 AD, the Bloody Island Massacre took place in Lake County, California, in which over a hundred women, children, and elderly of the Pomo Amerindians were slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry, led by Nathaniel Lyon, while all able bodied men were on a hunting trip. One of the Pomo survivors of the massacre was a 6-year-old girl named Ni'ka, later renamed Lucy Moore. She hid underwater and breathed through a reed. Her descendants formed the Lucy Moore Foundation. The US has a bleak and bloody history of genocide of the native Amerindians, who have almost been exterminated, while the remnants survive in camps without any birthrights.

157 solar years ago, on this day in 1859 AD, the French scientist and physicist, Pierre Curie, was born in Paris. His talent in mathematics and physics was discovered at his youth and he conducted extensive research in these domains. In the year 1898, he managed to discover Radium with the assistance of his wife, Madame Curie. Pierre Curie died in the year 1906.

97 solar years ago, on this day in 1919 AD, the coastal city of Izmir was liberated from Greek occupation by Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kamal Pasha, who later emerged as a dictator and under western influence tried to eradicate the Islamic culture and religion of the Turkish Muslims.

76 solar years ago, on this day in 1940 AD, the German army, after a five-day offensive, occupied Netherlands during World War 2. The German forces started their attacks on France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxemburg, west of Germany, as of May 10, 1940, and after a while occupied all four countries.

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD the researcher, author, and lecturer of Persian language and literature at Tehran University, Dr. Mahdi Derakhshan, passed away at the age of 75. For a while, he also researched and lectured at Turkey's Ankara University. He has left behind a large number of valuable compilations

23 solar years ago, on this day in 1993 AD, the UN General Assembly designated May 15 as “International Day of Families” to emphasize the importance to the family unit. The Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.

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